Watch our Spring 2025 School & Library Virtual Preview!


Watch our MacKids School & Library Spring 2025 Preview Event where we previewed upcoming picture books, middle grade, young adult, and adult titles! You’ll hear from talented creators Marzieh Abbas (The Camel Library); Askel Aden (Love, Misha); and Kasia Babis (Breadcrumbs)!

Plus author Kristen Mei Chase was in conversation discussing her picture book debut, We Are American, Too, an exquisitely illustrated exploration of Asian American history, identity, and pride. Also, we were thrilled to have the #1 New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed historian Ibram X. Kendi with us! Dr. Kendi was in conversation talking about Malcolm Lives!: The Official Biography of Malcolm X for Young Readers, a powerful biography about the life of Malcolm X!

Discussion Guide: Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray

Abuelo, the Sea, and Me

Under the Same Stars
By Libba Bray
Ages 12-18
On Sale Now!
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

From New York Times bestselling author Libba Bray comes a propulsive historical mystery that examines truth, rebellion, reconciliation, and what must be sacrificed for a better world.

It was said that if you write to the Bridegroom’s Oak, the love of your life will answer back. Now, the tree is giving up its secrets at last.

In 1940s Germany, Sophie is excited to discover a message waiting for her in the Bridegroom’s Oak from a mysterious suitor. Meanwhile, her best friend, Hanna, is sending messages too—but not to find love. As World War II unfolds in their small town of Kleinwald, the oak may hold the key to resistance against the Nazis.

In 1980s West Germany, American teen transplant Jenny feels suffocated by her strict parents and is struggling to fit in. Until she finds herself falling for Lena, a punk-rock girl hell-bent on tearing down the wall separating West Germany from East Germany, and meeting Frau Hermann, a kind old lady with secrets of her own.

In Spring 2020, New York City, best friends Miles and Chloe are slogging through the last few months of senior year when an unexpected package from Chloe’s grandmother leads them to investigate a cold case about two unidentified teenagers who went missing under the Bridegroom’s Oak eighty years ago.

dOWNLOAD THE dISCUSSION gUIDE FOR uNDER THE sAME sTARS hERE →